Weekly E-mail Update 7-02-17

Weekly E-mail Update 7-02-17

Change will not come if we wait for some other person or if we wait for some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek."Barack Obama

Dear Ann --

We at WeCAN would like to wish a very Happy Birthday to the nation we all love so dearly, the United States of America. In honor of the most Revolutionary of American holidays here are some little known facts about the American Revolution and the Fourth of July that you can impress your friends with this week:

The word “independence” never appears in the Declaration of Independence — rather, it’s titled “The Unanimous Declaration of the Thirteen United States of America.”

The original Congress had strict term limits.Unlike 21st Century Washington, no delegate to the first Continental Congress could serve for more than three years during any six-year period.

There is more than one copy of the Declaration of Independence.Even though most people who see the document see the original on display at the National Archives in Washington, D.C., hundreds more were printed. These copies are known as the "Dunlop broadsides", after the owner of the shop that printed them, John Dunlop. The copies were dispatched to the colonies to be read aloud for people who could not read. Of the hundreds printed, only 26 are known to have survived, including two which were found in the last 26 years. One was found in 1989 by a Philadelphia man hidden in a picture frame he bought at a flea market for $4 and the other was found in a box of papers at the British National Archives in 2009.

When a Dunlop broadside was read by George Washington in New York City on July 9, 1776, the words so inspired the people listening that they started a riot. Later that day, they tore down a statue of George III, which was later melted and shaped into musket balls for the American army, according to the History Channel.

“The Meaning Of The Fourth Of July For The Negro”. Frederick Douglass delivered the speech on July 5, 1852 in Rochester, N.Y. at the Corinthian Hall, which was an event held by the Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society to celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence. An excerpt follows: “What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? I answer; a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. To him, your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sound of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your denunciation of tyrants brass fronted impudence; your shout of liberty and equality, hollow mockery; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanks-givings, with all your religious parade and solemnity, are to him, mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy – a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages. There is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices more shocking and bloody than are the people of the United States, at this very hour.”

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HAPPENING THIS WEEK MONDAY, JULY 3RD, 2017 - SUNDAY, JULY 9TH, 2017

March with the The "We Celebrate Democracy/Civil Rights For All" Banner this Fourth of JulyTuesday, July 4th, 2017 starting at Brattleboro Union High School (131 Fairground Rd, Brattleboro, VT 05301).10am-12pm. Please RSVP to woodyandsusan@gmail.com or 802-464-3154.Our “We Celebrate Democracy/Civil Rights for All” main street banner has been accepted in the Brattleboro Goes Fourth Parade and we’d love for you to join us!We Need Your Help!: •8 people to carry the banner and 8 alternates.•Help figuring out the best way to carry the banner•Lots of supporters to come out and march for democracy and civil rights. Meet at BUHS at 10 am. Proceed down Fairground Ave to Canal to Main to the common. End around noon. We are proposing that we sing "We love Democracy and Civil Rights. For all the people. Yes we do- civil rights for me and you", or something like it. If you have a problem with our current political/social situation you can likely trace it back to a failure of our democracy. Democracy and civil rights is the issue of our time, maybe all times. The dark force of fascism is trying to put out the light of democracy. The 4th, independence day, is THE PERFECT DAY to march with the banner and show that we say "yes!" to democracy and civil rights.

Thursday, July 6th, 2017 at the Brattleboro Food Coop (2 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301) in the Community Room from 6:30pm-8pm. Please use the entrance at 7 Canal Street)We will plan our Democracy Summer Town Hall coming up in late July. We'll also be talking about doing some canvassing on our Political Revolution agenda for Vermont, also in late July. Come join us. Refreshments provided.For questions, please contact Emma Schoenberg (emma@radvt.org, 802-793-8851).

Bellows FallsFriday, July 7th (and every Friday) in front of the TD Bank Bellows Falls (2 Church St, Bellows Falls, VT 05101). 1pm-2pm. Please bring your own signs.TD is a major investor in Tar Sands. TD helps to fund the Dakota Access Pipeline. The State of Vermont Keeps Most of Our Cash in TD.What You Can You Do (besides attending the vigils):If you’re a TD depositor, change banks!If you’re a Vermonter, demand that state funds not be deposited with a bank investing in fossil fuels.Contact your state legislators to support the bills in the House & Senate calling for a commission to explore the possibility of a State Bank. Founded in 2005, Post Oil Solutions is a 501c3 community organizing project in Southeastern Vermont whose mission is to help empower the people of the Central Connecticut River Valley bioregion to develop sustainable, resilient , collaborative, and socially just communities leading to a self- and community-sufficient post petroleum society. For more information please contactinfo@postoilsolutions.org or 802.869.2141

Discussion with Senator Jeanette WhiteSunday, July 9th, 2017 at the Putney Public Library (55 Main St, Putney, VT 05346). 1:30pm-3:30pm.Emily McAdoo will lead a panel regarding the recent civics class that took place at the Putney Public Library. This will be a great time for those that did attend to process what they learned and for all of us who could not attend to pick up key points. Senator Jeanette White will join us to speak and take questions.

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UPCOMING EVENTS

The Southern Vermont Dance Festival Thursday, July 13th, 2017 - Sunday, June 16th, 2017. Locations and times vary.This year’s theme is Diversity and throughout all of the classes, the community events, and the gala performances you will see themes of our times. Resistance, free speech, diversity, equality and beyond will all be represented. SVDF is arranging a special Resistance/Social Justice Promenade on Saturday July 15thfrom 10am to 1pm. Come to the River Garden and get your map to the acts. Then at 1pm, come on down to the Latchis for a short performance on the Story of Harriet Tubman called "Sister Moses". For more information on the community events, to take classes, and to get your tickets to the galas please go to www.southernvermontdancefestival.comCome to the One and Only Brattleboro as the streets come alive with Movement!

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Volunteer Baking Opportunity with Brattleboro Senior MealsFriday, July 14th, 2017 at the Brattleboro Senior Center (207 Main St, Brattleboro, VT 05301). 12pm. (Homemade goods must be received at the center by the above date and time.)

Calling all bakers! Brattleboro Senior Meals will be doing a fundraiser at the Welcome Center in Guilford on Saturday, July 15th, 2017 and we still need your help with baked good donations. Muffins, scones, cookies, brownies, whatever is your specialty! Not a baker yourself? Help us by sharing this post with your network! Please call the center (802) 257-1236 or message us here to let us know what you will be baking and how to get in touch with you. All donations will need to be dropped off to the Brattleboro Senior Center by 12pm on Friday, July 14th, 2017.

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Local Love Brigade GatheringsWednesday, July 19th, 2017 at 10am at Bradley House (65 Harris Ave, Brattleboro, VT 05301)Sunday, August 13th, 11:30am - 1:30pm at the Brattleboro Museum and Art Center (10 Vernon St, Brattleboro, VT 05301)In the meantime, we'll keep sending out postcards to folks that need it. Here are the addresses from past week's incidents. Let's keep the love flowing.(If you missed the great article in the Commons about the impact the Love Brigade is having, you can check it out here.)

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Vermont Health Connect Testimony Neededsponsored by the Vermont Workers’ CenterThursday, July 20th, 2017 at City Center (89 Main Street, Montpelier, VT). 9am. Time TBD. Carpools from Windham County will be available. For more information contact windham@workerscenter.org or 257-4436.Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) of Vermont has requested a 12.7% average premium hike for next year’s Vermont Health Connect plans. While many of us are focused on the draconian healthcare legislation proposed by the Republicans in Washington, these hikes are imminent and will affect over 70,000 people in Vermont.The Vermont Workers’ Center’s Healthcare Is A Human Right campaign is organizing resistance to these rate hikes. This is the time to make your voice heard. If you are on one of these plans, you can tell the GMCB how the premium increases will affect you and your family. Any Vermont resident can submit testimony, so even if you are not on a VHC plan you can tell the GMCB to say no to the rate hikes. You can also voice your support for universal healthcare as the solution that would transform our healthcare system by putting people before profit.Visit www.workerscenter.org/healthcare/share-your-story to submit a testimony online. You can also sign up there to go to the public hearing in person.

Vigil at TD Bank in Montpeliersponsored by the Upper Valley Affinity GroupThe Second Thursday of Each Month Through the Summer and Fall. At the Corner of State and Main Streets in Montpelier, VT. 11:30am-1pm.Ride share from Exit 5 off I91N. Departs at 10am. Contact Tim at 802.869.2141or bereal@vermontel,net.]Come and stay as long as you can to peacefully protest TDBank’s huge investments in climate and water destroying pipeline infrastructure.Urge the State of Vermont and other depositors to close their TDBank accounts.Support moving swiftly to 100% renewable energy and a state bank for Vermont.\We will be bearing witness and distributing fact sheets about TD's extensive financial support for pipelines.Bring a sign, bring your friends, bring your neighbors, bring your lunch or just come and join us by yourself.For more information contact Duncan Nichols at 802.281.2692 or duncandnichols@gmail.com.

Childcare as a Radical Act: Sign up to Provide Childcare! The Family Solidarity Action Network is moving forward with their next big effort to support families in local activism: a collective of folks to provide childcare for local activist meetings or events. If you or someone you know would be able and willing to offer childcare (as a volunteer, or paid) for meetings and events please fill out this spreadsheet:https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1YGVI8wECe4ZDdghtAG147j7ktwgB_J5ZoWUPkwGrOhM/edit#gid=0

We are looking for people young and old with varying degrees of experience. Having a large pool of people to call on will make it much easier for organizers to arrange childcare for meetings, allowing for more voices of families with young children to participate in local activism! We will then be making this list available to other local organizations so we can be sure that childcare doesn't have to be a barrier to participation for anyone.

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VOLUNTEER AND COMMUNITY SUPPORT OPPORTUNITIES

Sister District SisterDisrict is an organization that connects you with your local home district team to work on Sister Races in Virginia, Washington State, and Georgia. The goal? To turn Red states Blue. Support these critical races by donating to them and sharing about them on social media. Or, get in on the fun by joining your local district team for even more action items!

Here is an update from the Vermont district team:SisterDistrict SoupWe have made a few changes to our SisterDistrict Soup project and will be offering a monthly soup subscription to benefit either SisterDistrict directly or our current candidate (subscriber's choice).

Exchange Student Hosts WantedPAX (Program of Academic Exchange Vermont) is looking for families who are interested in hosting a high school exchange student for Brattleboro HS and Bellows Falls for the upcoming school year. Clara is one such student, a 15 year old girl from Spin whose interests include skiing, scouting and gymnastics. Could you open your home to one of these students?

Host families come in all shapes and sizes - they represent the diversity of American culture, with varied economic, religious and racial backgrounds. Among those who truly enjoy the exchange experience are parents looking to give their families a glimpse of the world and introduce them to new customs and cultures, without having to travel the globe.

Many of our host families do not have high school age children, while others have adult children who no longer live at home. They say that hosting an exchange student gives them an opportunity to enrich their own lives and connect with their community in a whole new way.

Indigo RadioSundays at 12pm on Brattleboro Community Radio 107.7FMTo stream live: Visit www.wvew.org Indigo Radio, deepening understanding and making connections!IndigoRadio is a group of area educators seeking to learn through engaging with others in our community and throughout the world. We will be talking about educational and social issues both globally and locally and connecting them to our lives and Brattleboro community.Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/indigoradiowvew/For archive recordings of past shows: https://soundcloud.com/user-654648353

Naomi Klein Study/Action Group2nd Study/Action Group is Being Organized

Because the 1st group is filled, and additional people have expressed interest, Post Oil Solutions is considering a 2nd study/action group on Naomi Klein’s latest book No Is Not Enough: Resisting Trump's Shock Politics and Winning the World We Need, that was just published onJune 13.

We will need a few more people to be able to do this. I’m looking for no more than 12 participants.The study/action group will begin in September so as to avoid the inevitable interruptions of the summer months.NOTE: This is not a book club; rather this group is intended for people who are already engaged in or wish to seriously address the climate, political, economic, and social issues of our time, and will use the latest book by respected activist and author, Naomi Klein, to both inspire and advance their activism. If you are interested, contact Tim: bereal@vermontel.netA website for No Is Not Enough says the book “reveals, among other things, how Trump's election was not a peaceful transition, but a corporate takeover, one using deliberate shock tactics to generate wave after wave of crises and force through radical policies that will destroy people, the environment, the economy, and national security. This book is the toolkit for shock resistance, showing all of us how we can break Trump's spell and win the world we need.”

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Thank you, once again, for your compassionate input and ever-seeking desire for justice in our county. We wish you a happy, safe holiday this week and we look forward to seeing you at an upcoming event.